Whistleblowing in social care

Fear of bullying prevents social workers from whistleblowing

Many social workers and care professionals are too afraid to blow the whistle on poor practice. We look at the latest advice, analysis and resources

‘My career ended within months’

We asked 30 social workers about their experiences of whistleblowing. Many gave detailed accounts of trying to report their concerns, only to come up against bullying colleagues, managers with selective hearing and processes that protect the organisation over its staff. Here are some excerpts:

“Senior managers tried to brush it under the carpet, but I insisted it be taken forward. It did me no good in the career stakes, but I didn’t care as I was only interested in being the best social worker I could be.”

“At my last job, I told inspectors that I had been given a child protection case the morning of the inspection and told to pretend it was mine and that I had been working on it. My career with that local authority was ended within months.”

“I once blew the whistle on a colleague who did something illegal. This person was quite dominant in the office and I was worried about reprisals from her and her friends. […] It was dealt with informally – and that person is now a manager within the same organisation.”

“Years ago, when I was a social work student, I did a placement where I witnessed what I considered to be abuse of an elderly woman. […] I took it to my work colleagues, practice teacher, university lecturer, etc, but there seemed to be an apathy and acceptance of ‘that’s what happens’.”

And on the positive side…

“I highlighted dangerous practice after going on a home visit and suggested ways to improve things. My ideas were taken on board and now the process has been changed.”

Comments are closed.

In association with:

One social worker's long battle to blow the whistle

Martin Morton was forced to resign from Wirral Council after he told managers he was concerned about the overcharging of adults with learning disabilities between 2000 and 2003. He later exposed the scandal in the press and was eventually offered his job back. In this video, Morton talks about the challenges he faced.

The council has since apologised to Morton and acknowledged that the issues he raised were “badly handled”. It has improved its whistleblowing procedure and made sure it is well-publicised, so staff understand their rights to highlight concerns and managers are fully aware of their responsibilities in dealing with such issues. The policy now includes measures to report concerns in a way that guarantees protection in cases where whistleblowers feel they may be vulnerable.

Our website uses cookies, which are small text files that are widely used in order to make websites work more effectively. To continue using our website and consent to the use of cookies, click click 'Continue'. Find out more.